"Bit By Technology, Hit By Love" And when I raised my head above, I was counting the tick-tick of the slowest watch ever made by mankind. There were people chattering around me and all I was able to hear was my own sound, in reckoning ways and reckoning times, “Why don’t you go inside my Boss and leave me alone?” My eyes were shining bright like never before and my heart was throbbing blood at the speed of sound. My face was little pale though. Anxiety and the desperation had crawled over me completely and so I was looking like an agent waiting to crack the mystery on the edge. Every good thing in my life has been a surprise to me. It was 6th December, 2013, the most unforgettable day of my life. A day which is a little bit more the price of all the stars bought together, if only you could buy a star!! My manager, colleagues and I were having a discussion over the last month’s performance and the discussion was slowly transcending the ability to bear. Suddenly a whistle blew and my cell phone vibrated. It was an e-mail. Not to ignore it, I checked the sender and the subject. It read as, “Shalini Prasad” and “Introduction” respectively. “Aah!! May be someone spamming my inbox for credit card or something.” I exited the mail unread. But there was something unusual about the mail. There was the sender’s photo along with the mail. Now spammers don’t put their photos it unless they are amateurs. I remembered this name and photo, but from where? Taxing my brain, I found it. She is the same girl who approached me on Shaadi.com. I revisited my inbox. ALAS!! There was an infinite end to my astonishment. How could a girl approach me in such a professional way despite of knowing everything? The mail read as, “Hi Nilesh, This is Shalini Prasad, working with a private corporate giant at Kolkata. My parents are interested in your profile for marriage but before proceeding further, I want to know more about you. I am expecting your reply. Thanks & Regards, Shalini Prasad” And this is how it began. I replied to her mail and then we agreed upon knowing each other through the aid of technology without exchanging our numbers. We gossiped day and night. There was no end to our conversation. The only intervals were power nap intervals. We were so engrossed in knowing each other. But when and how did our families met? This might still be pondering you over your head. So the anecdote goes as, our fathers were pal, a very good pal. But agonized by the hands of profession, they had to walk their ways apart and eventually they lost all contacts. I am 28 years of age and my father wanted me to get married. But I never found a girl who would have matched my criteria and fulfilled them. Disappointed by my continuous rejections, my father asked to me to create a profile on Shaadi.com and so I did. I rarely used to sneak into it to find a match. Shalini was 24 by then and her father was looking for a good alliance for her. But Shalini’s father was not in a rush. Inspired by the television media, he also opted for Shaadi.com to find her a suitable life partner. But my dear friend, I strongly believe now that marriages are made in heaven and you meet your soul partner only when you are destined to. Also, I firmly believe that world is a small place to live in. All you need is a catalyst to facilitate your momentum to search. And Shaadi.com came as the charged catalyst. My profile’s brief description threw some light on my family background and upon my father. Sufficient enough to form a blur image, Shalini’s father guessed it that it was time to meet a lost friend. So a request was sent to me. I accepted it gracefully then. Technology and Shaadi.com came to us as a blissful blessing. On the parallel side, our love life blossomed when I proposed her over the telephone. Our conversation was not proving helpful as we wanted to be sure that the person we are chatting to really have this beautiful heart and mind. We exchanged our numbers within a week and started talking. Yet there was no end to our conversation. We spoke day and night. By this time, our families were deciding our fate but we two young lovers had already decided our fate. We realized that we were the two souls sent from above to meet each other on earth and unite as one forever. Our families supported our decision gracefully and with full enthusiasm. Shaadi.com was about to bring two souls together along with two old friends lost in times. Finally, on 19th April 2014, we got engaged. It was on 11th July when we tied the knot and took the seven vows of marriage in front of the five elements of the earth. Today, when I look back, I see a panorama where she would have not been there if Shaadi.com would have not brought us together. Life would have been so different and incomplete without her. But now when I look forward, I see a life that I never asked for but was gifted gracefully by God. A life where we are so engrossed in finding happiness, love, care, affection and completeness for each other in every possible way. We know that we are the soul partners and a big thanks to Shaadi.com in finding just the exact soul made for me from the vast ocean of all the pleasing souls. Millions of thanks and tons of love, Shalini & Nilesh, A.K.A “Shalinilesh”